As the cost of medication continues to soar, accessing
essential drugs has become increasingly difficult for many Nigerians.
The cost of drugs in the country has been on an upward
trajectory, making it unaffordable for a significant portion of the population
to access necessary medications.
The cost of healthcare has been steadily increasing
over the years, putting immense pressure on both patients and healthcare
systems.
Factors such as expensive brand-name drugs, research
and development costs, and complex regulatory processes contribute to the
escalating prices.
As a result, healthcare budgets are stretched thin,
making it crucial to identify cost-effective alternatives.
Stakeholders in the health sector have identified
numerous factors contributing to the issue in the country and they include
currency devaluation, importation costs, and monopolistic practices by
pharmaceutical companies.
Consequently, they said that the inability to afford
life-saving drugs has resulted in higher mortality rates and a decline in
overall public health in the country.
In an era of skyrocketing healthcare costs, finding
cost-effective solutions is essential for healthcare providers and patients
alike.
According to Wikipedia, a generic drug, or simply
generic, contains the same chemical substance as a medication initially
protected by patents. These drugs become available for sale after the
expiration of the original patents.
Due to the identical active chemical substance,
generics typically perform equivalently to their patented counterparts.
While sharing the same active pharmaceutical
ingredient as the original, generics may vary in aspects like manufacturing
process, formulation, excipients, colour, taste, and packaging.
However, Generic drugs emerged as a viable option,
offering substantial savings without compromising on the quality and efficacy
of treatment in countries like India and China.
Dr Simon Agwale, CEO of Innovative Biotech, a leading
biotechnology company, said that for the initial two decades following the
introduction of a prescription medication, exclusive manufacturing and
marketing rights belong to the patent holder.
Agwale explained that only the brand-name version was
available during this period.
“However, once the patent expires, other companies can
produce and market generic versions at a lower price.
“Generic drugs must contain the same active
ingredients and meet the same safety standards as their brand-name
counterparts, but they are cheaper because the manufacturer did not incur the
initial research and development costs,” he said.
He said that a generic drug, as long as it has been
labelled as generic, no longer has patent issues, was already approved, and has
been in the market of its originating country that has a strict regulatory
agency.
He said that the cost savings associated with generic
drugs were significant.
“Studies have shown that generic drugs can be up to
80-85 per cent cheaper than their brand-name equivalents.
“This allows healthcare providers to allocate their
budgets more efficiently, ensuring that a larger number of patients can access
necessary medications without financial burden,” he explained.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has approved three
resolutions aimed at strengthening the health and social welfare sector to
better deliver to Nigerians.
The decisions are targeted at relieving the escalating
cost of pharmaceuticals, funding health sector regulatory bodies and mitigating
the human resource flight in the sector.
The President’s action was guided by his Renewed Hope
Agenda, which puts the human capital, health and social welfare of Nigerians at
the centre.
One of the decisions would be codified into an
Executive Order for effective implementation, which aims to enable local drug
manufacturers to thrive while ensuring fair pricing of essential medicines.
The Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC), has called
for an approach to addressing Nigerian health system challenges.
They said that the current approach of issuing
executive orders and meeting with pharmaceutical industries would not
effectively solve the problems in the country’s health system in the long run.
They suggested that the root causes of these problems,
such as the poor status of the Naira, insecurity, infrastructure gap,
corruption, and high cost of doing business, needed to be addressed.
They highlighted the success of countries like
Malaysia in developing strong healthcare systems and efficient medicine supply
chains without relying on executive orders.
They called for a holistic and home-grown approach to
solving the country’s health system challenges, emphasising the need for
sincere and efficient implementation of existing laws and policies
Dr Simeon Onyemaechi, Chairman, Forum of CEOs of Forum
of CEOs of State Social Health Insurance Agencies in Nigeria, said that one
common concern regarding generic drugs was their quality and efficacy compared
to brand-name drugs.
However, Onyemaechi said that generic drugs undergo
rigorous testing and regulatory processes to ensure their safety and
effectiveness.
“Regulatory authorities, such as the National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control, will closely monitor and regulate
generic drug production to maintain high standards.
“Consequently, Nigerians can trust that generic drugs
offer the same therapeutic benefits as their brand-name counterparts,” he said.
As the high cost of medication continues to burden
Nigerians, the President of the PSN, Prof. Cyril Osifoh, on Channels TV
advocated for the prescription and dispensing of generic drugs as a viable
solution.
Osifoh said that by embracing generic alternatives, healthcare professionals
can help reduce the financial burden on patients while maintaining the same
level of therapeutic efficacy.
He disclosed that the PSN was actively engaging with
the government to explore further measures to bring down medication costs and
improve access to affordable healthcare in the country.
According to Pharm Juliet Bernard, a Director at
Toosie Pharmacy, Abuja, despite their proven effectiveness and cost savings,
generic drugs still face stigma and misconceptions among patients and
healthcare professionals.
Bernard said that some individuals believe that
generic drugs are of lower quality or less effective, leading to reluctance in
their usage.
All things considered, educating patients and
healthcare providers about the benefits and safety of generic drugs is
essential in maximising healthcare budgets and improving access to affordable
treatment, Bernard said.
She said by the country embracing generic drugs,
healthcare systems could allocate resources more efficiently, ensuring that
patients receive the care they need without facing financial hardship.
“If your doctor prescribes you a medication, it’s
worth asking whether a generic alternative is available and whether your doctor
has any preferences or guidance.
“You’ll almost certainly pay less at the pharmacy when
you fill your prescription if it’s a generic drug.
“And if your health plan has step therapy rules, a
generic drug will let you avoid the hassle of potential claim denials for
higher-priced drugs,” she explained.
(NAN)